Precarious Ruins of Dunbar Castle - geograph

Ralph de Greystoke, 3rd Baron Greystoke, (18 October 1353 – 6 April 1418) was an English peer and landowner.

Life

Greystoke was the son of

William de Greystoke, 2nd Baron Greystoke William Greystoke, 2nd Baron Greystoke, (6 January 1321 – 10 July 1359) of Greystoke in Cumbria, was an English peer and landowner. Origins Greystoke was the son of Ralph Greystoke, 1st Baron Greystoke, and his wife Alice, daughter of Hugh ...

, and Joane, daughter of Lord Fitzhugh, his second wife. He was born on 18 October 1353 at Ravensworth Castle, North Yorkshire, the home of his maternal uncle Henry. As he was still a child when his father died, his estates were placed under the guardianship of

Roger de Clifford, 5th Baron de Clifford Roger de Clifford, 5th Baron de Clifford, ninth Lord Clifford, fifth Baron of Westmoreland (10 July 1333 – 13 July 1389), was the son of Robert de Clifford, 3rd Baron de Clifford (d. 20 May 1344), second son of Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron d ...

. He was summoned to Parliament between 28 November 1375 and 5 October 1417, and, in the 1370s and 1380s, served as a warden of the

Scottish Marches Scottish Marches was the term used for the Anglo-Scottish border during the late medieval and early modern eras, characterised by violence and cross-border raids. The Scottish Marches era came to an end during the first decade of the 17th century ...

. In 1384, he led an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

force that was defeated by the Scots, under the command of

George I, Earl of March George de Dunbar, 10th Earl of Dunbar and March (1338–1422), 12th Lord of Annandale and Lord of the Isle of Man, was "one of the most powerful nobles in Scotland of his time, and the rival of the Douglases."Anderson (1867), vol.iv:74 Family ...

, while they were travelling to

Roxburgh Roxburgh () is a civil parish and formerly a royal burgh, in the historic county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland. In the Middle Ages it had at leas ...

. Greystoke was captured and taken to

Dunbar Castle Dunbar Castle was one of the strongest fortresses in Scotland, situated in a prominent position overlooking the harbour of the town of Dunbar, in East Lothian. Several fortifications were built successively on the site, near the English-Scotti ...

, where he was provided with a meal in the great hall, served upon his own dining-ware, which had been seized from his baggage train along with hangings that now decorated the walls of the great hall.D. Laing (ed.), ''Andrew of Wyntoun's Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland'', 3 vols (William Paterson, Edinburgh 1872-1879), III (''The Historians of Scotland'', Vol. IX)
pp. 19-20
(Book IX, Chapter 5). Greystoke's ransom was 3,000

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members * Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel ...

, and his younger brother William was his

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...

in the exchange. While at Dunbar, William took ill with fever and died. William was buried at the castle, but two years later his remains were moved to

Newminster Abbey Newminster Abbey was a Cistercian abbey in Northumberland in the north of England. The site is protected by Grade II listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument status. Ranulph de Merlay, lord of Morpeth, and his wife, Juliana, daughter of ...

in Northumberland, where his grandfather

Ralph de Greystoke, 1st Baron Greystoke Ralph de Greystoke, 1st Baron Greystoke, (15 August 1299 – 14 July 1323) was an English peer and landowner. Descent and title Greystoke was the son of Robert fitz Ralph (heir and second son of Ralph Fitzwilliam) and his wife Elizabeth, dau ...

, was buried. Greystoke returned to fight the Scots in 1402 at the Battle of Humbleton Hill in Northumberland. In the 1390s, "disillusioned" with the reign of Richard II, Greystoke backed the return of the exiled Henry of Bolingbroke, son of

John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...

and grandson of

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

. Greystoke brought his own men to join those of the exile at

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

in 1399 and, after Richard II was deposed, with other northern English lords he remained loyal to Bolingbroke, who succeeded to the crown as Henry IV.

Personal

Greystoke married Katherine, the daughter of his former guardian

. They had two children:

John de Greystoke, 4th Baron Greystoke John Greystoke, 4th Baron Greystoke (''c.'' 1390–1436), son and heir of Ralph Greystoke, 3rd Baron Greystoke, was a member of the northern English nobility in the early fifteenth century. Royal service Born ''c.'' 1390, on his father's death a ...

, his heir, and Maude, who married Eudo de Welles, son of John de Welles, 5th Baron Welles. Greystoke died on 6 April 1418. At inquisitions following his death, his estate was assessed to include

messuage In law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of real property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or a lien. A typical conveyancing transaction has two major phases: the exchange of contracts ...

s, or "dwelling-houses", and land holdings in

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

, Northumberland, and

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, as well as the manors and castles of Greystoke and

Morpeth Morpeth may refer to: *Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia ** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales * Morpeth, Ontario, Canada * Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK ** Morpeth (UK ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greystoke, Ralph, 3rd Baron Greystoke 1353 births 1418 deaths Burials at Newminster Abbey Barons Greystoke

Ralph Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...